An off-the-grid home in the far north has proven a real winner

m3architecture’s “Cape Tribulation House” has taken out a top award at the recent Queensland Architecture Awards, one of 12 awards and commendations the practice received.

A BRISBANE based architect practice has proven itself as a creative design powerhouse scooping the pool at the latest Queensland Architecture Awards and winning top prize for a home in the far north.

m3architecture took out the Robin Dods Award for Residential Architecture — Houses (new), for its Cape Tribulation House, just one of 12 awards and commendations that the firm was awarded.

Cape Tribulation House, from the outside. Picture: Peter Bennetts

The home, set in the World Heritage Daintree, is an off-the-grid holiday home for a Victoria-based owner, and fits in perfectly with its surrounds.

While the architecture firm, founded by Michael Lavery, Michael Banney and Michael Christiansen in 1997, is more renowned for its larger scale education and public work than residential, the practice was founded in small institutional work for the University of Queensland and backyard house extensions.

The dining and kitchen space is vast, welcoming and features plenty of warm, textured wood. Picture: Peter Bennetts

m3archiecture director and lead architect on the project Ben Vielle said the practice was invited in 2010 by a friend to design the holiday home.

“The owners reside in Victoria and were looking to design a house that would suit their family and friends,” Mr Vielle said

“Both small and large groups were to occupy the house periodically in the mid-season and winter months.”

More from news

The house features little pockets of privacy to sit back, swing back and relax. Picture: Peter Bennetts

Designing a home in dense rainforest was no easy task for the practice, but armed with some pink surveyors tape they traipsed their way through the rainforest and marked out a path from the road to the beach with the least impact. The pink tape was eventually replaced with white rope now serving as a playful design feature leading from the road to the beach and through the house.

With its dark wooden exterior and mirrored glass, the structure blends seamlessly into the surrounding forest. Picture: Peter Bennetts

With 181sq m of internal space, yet 314sq m of floor area under the roof it’s easy to see this home takes full advantage of its World Heritage location.

The house is mainly timber framed and lined, sourced from sustainable sources and is clad with black plastic and mirrored glass enabling it to disappear into the canopy.

Can you get any closer to wildlife from the comfort of your own home? Picture: Peter Bennetts

Energy use is minimised through passive design strategies such as using shade, natural ventilation and light, and with careful selection of fixtures and appliances.

Mr Vielle said throughout the design process, Integreco, a sustainability and green building consultancy, provided advice on material selections and infrastructure systems.

Getting good advice for both the design and economy of your home is clearly a key in a successful home build.

The bathroom is pretty special. Picture: Peter Bennetts

“This study demonstrated that the house has one-fifth the embodied and operational greenhouse gas emissions of a conventional Australian three-bedroom suburban house,” Mr Vielle said.

“According to Integreco, this achievement is no mean feat, especially given the size of the building, amount of associated works and infrastructure.”

If a house in the Daintree is appealing have a look at these three homes for sale:

Disclaimer: The information published in this section is of a general nature only and does not consider your personal objectives, financial situation or particular needs. Where indicated, third parties have written and supplied the content and we are not responsible for it. We make no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information, nor do we accept any liability or responsibility arising in any way from omissions or errors contained in the content. We do not recommend sponsored lenders or loan products and we cannot introduce you to sponsored lenders. We strongly recommend that you obtain independent advice before you act on the content.